My name is Fiona Greenwood and I started as Assistant Head Teacher at Cookham Nursery School in September 2018. I have taught Nursery to Year 3 in Primary Schools in London, Singapore and The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. Having taught at The Lawns Nursery in Windsor, which is federated with Cookham Nursery School, I was very much aware of the ethos and rationale behind the Nursery and its’ commitment to outstanding early education for all children.

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Things I love about Cookham Nursery:

I have loved my first term at Cookham Nursery. The knowledge and expertise that the staff bring to support learning across the Early Years Foundation Stage is outstanding. This knowledge is based on how children learn as well as what children learn and this is fundamental to our children today. Children learn when they are deeply involved and the staff are experts at tapping into children’s interests and finding challenging ways to develop them. The quality of the relationships and interactions between the adults and the children are exceptional. Children’s dispositions and attitudes to learning give the indicators for future success and many of these have formed by the time a child starts at school. We must get this right and having our knowledgeable, experienced and highly trained staff is key.

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The environment at Cookham Nursery is outstanding and I walk in every day and feel so lucky to be here. There is something special about the atmosphere that is perfect for the age and stage of our children. This purpose built Nursery gives a homely spacious feel while the outdoor area provides the best opportunities for physical development, communication and language and personal and social development – our most important areas for optimum child development. The well-being of the children is also heightened with the greenery and trees that are in abundance in our garden.

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The children at Cookham Nursery are an absolute delight and I am amazed by their focus and involvement in a range of activities which promote deep levels of learning. They have made so much progress and I’m looking forward to seeing how each child develops during their time with us.

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If you haven’t been to Cookham Nursery School and you have young children who will be starting at pre -school in the future, I would love to show you around.

 

Future funding for Cookham Nursery School!

At Cookham Nursery School we feel it is important to remind everyone why we are appealing to parliament for some more information on the funding of Maintained Nursery Schools and also to reassure and dispel rumours of an imminent Cookham Nursery School closure.

Cookham Nursery School is one of 397 Maintained Nursery Schools in England. We are wonderfully unique in that we are funded by our local authorities as schools to provide excellent early education for children from 3 years old. Our remit is early education rather than wrap around care that other private providers might provide.

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As we are recognized by the Department of Education and Ofsted as a school we must meet certain statutory obligations such as have qualified teachers, early years practitioners, a special needs coordinator and a Head teacher. This makes our running costs more expensive; however we know that this is why our children make such excellent progress at Cookham Nursery School.

We currently receive additional funding to meet these costs which the Government have only agreed until the end of March 2020. ALL 397 Maintained Nursery schools in England are using the petition to raise awareness of our concerns regarding funding and to ask for some future guarantees so we can plan ahead.

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We do need this additional funding to continue to thrive and provide our children with the best possible outcomes. I have met and written to our MP so that she is aware of our concerns however if parents/ carers/ local community are keen to lobby on our behalf then that would be most welcome.

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Further to our paper petition an online petition in support of the continuation of fair funding for Nursery Schools has just been launched. Please click on the link below:

 

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/237004

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Please feel free to share the petition with friends, family and on social media.

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